If we definite culture as "the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a social group" or "the characteristic features of everyday existence shared by people in a place or time" as in popular culture or southern culture, then it can be said that Second Life has a culture unique to those who use it. These include typical experiences that nearly all users go through that become a sort of shared history, or developing a unique vocabulary that describes actions or activities that are common in Second Life.
Indeed there have been books written about the history of Second Life and Second Life culture, some of which may be available for loan to members of the UC Second Life Project team.
What it Means to be a Resident Instead of a "User"
Unlike with other technology platforms, the people who use Second Life don't call themselves "users" and the company who makes Second Life, Linden Lab, usually doesn't refer to them as users, either. Instead they are called Residents as a way to differentiate from someone who simply uses a technology like email versus someone who "lives" in the virtual world, i.e. invests an amount of time, energy, effort and care into the work they do and the social experiences and relationships that they have in Second Life that it transcends mere "use". We don't invest emotional energy into our email software, but when you immerse yourself in a virtual environment like Second Life, it is easy to become emotionally invested in the things you create and the people you meet there.
Long term users of Second Life also use the term Resident to differentiate between those who "live or work" in Second Life versus those who are simply tourists stopping in to check it out. For example, journalists often create an avatar to write a story about something happening in Second Life, but even if Linden Lab might refer to that avatar account as a Resident, those who are long term users of the platform would call that person a tourist, not a "true" Resident.
Second Life Subcultures
From the Wikipedia entry about Second Life subcultures:
Second Life comprises various diverse, user-driven subcultures. There are few pre-determined structures, so what organization that exists has evolved to meet the wants and needs of the residents. Some residents will have an avatar that is clearly human male or female, and some will have an avatar where the gender is less obvious, or entirely androgynous; it is easy for a user to change the appearance of the avatar to either gender. Also, there are many non-human avatars, like "furries", neko (cat-girls), robots, and fantasy creatures such as dragons.
Some residents choose to re-enact some specific world, such as medieval Japan or ancient Rome. They choose to act out this world like real life historical re-creators do. As usual, residents are free to move in and out of these worlds as they see fit. Virtual property rights come into play here, since the property owner can choose to expel residents who don't abide by the property regulations, which in these case might include dress, language, and behavior. There are also areas that re-create worlds from literature, such as Frank Herbert's Dune or John Norman's Gor or from video games such as the Final Fantasy or the Star Wars series. Some of the subcultures in Second Life revolve around events. Events include many activities related to arts, culture, charity, support groups, commerce, discussion, education, games, contests, nightlife, entertainment, pageants, and sports.
A poster for an event taking place in Raglan Shire, one of the oldest communities in Second Life devoted to "tinies" or those who choose to represent themselves as tiny animal avatars.
Second Life Slang
In addition to general culture and subcultures in Second Life, Residents have also developed a specialized vocabulary to describe actions and experiences that are unique to virtual worlds or Second Life.
Some common Second Life terms include:
1L – First Life / Real World.
2L – Second Life.
Alt – Another "alternative" avatar/account in Second Life used by the same person.
AFK – Away from keyboard. Resident is logged in but not at their computer.
AO – Animation override. The process of a script or animation taking control of your Avatar’s actions. Used in poseballs, danceballs and other objects.
Avatar (Av) – Your personal body/representation within Second Life.
Bling – The animated sparkling effect that radiates from some objects. Can also refer to "trashy" dressed avatars wearing many heavily scripted objects that cause lag for other viewers, ie "blingtard".
Dance Ball – An object that contains an animation file, in this case a dance move. By clicking on it your avatar’s actions will be overridden to act out the ball’s animation.
Estate - A collection of regions that has tools available to help landowners manage multiple regions more easily.
Furry – An avatar that looks like an anthropomorphic animal.
Gesture - A combination of animations, poses, and possibly sound that your avatar can perform. Can be trigged by a keyboard shortcut or phrase.
Grid – The collection of regions, islands, or sims linked together that make up the entire Second Life world is known as the "grid".
Griefer / Griefing – Acting in a way or using objects to purposely annoy or interrupt someone else.
Groups – An organization of Second Life residents. Active group titles appear above an Avatar’s name. Group members have additional communication options.
HUD – Heads Up Display. A custom interface that allows additional interactivity not offered by the standard viewer. HUDs appear as items in your inventory and are "worn" to place the interface on your screen.
IRL – In real life.
Inventory – The collection of everything your avatar owns. Objects, notecards, scripts, landmarks, are all kept here.
In-world – Referring to things within Second Life.
Islands – Land that is part of a grid but not directly connected to the mainland.
Lindex – The trading market that determines the value of Linden Dollars to real dollars. Rates fluctuate based on demand and other factors.
LL – Linden Lab. The company that created Second Life.
LM – Landmark. A specific location within Second Life or the object placed in your lanndmarks folder that allows you to teleport to a specific location in Second Life.
Local Chat/Voice – Anything typed in the chat window can be viewed by avatars within a 20 meter radius of you, this is known as "local" chat, versus an IM (Instant Message) or Group conversation that takes place in a separate window and can only be seen by the participants. Local Voice Chat range is larger than 20meters depending upon their volume levels, but Local Voice refers to voice chat that is only audible to avatars close to your location.
LSL – Linden Scripting Language. An Object Oriented Programming Language that gives objects interactivity in SL.
L$ - Linden Dollars. The currency used to buy things in-world. The real world value of Linden Dollars fluctuates.
Machinima – The process of making an animated movie using Second Life to act out the scenes.
MMO / MMOG / MMORPG- Massively Multiplayer On-line Role Playing Game.
Noob/ Newb / Newbie – A new user. This term can be but is not always meant as an insult.
Object – A prim or connected group of prims.
Pose Ball - An object that contains an animation file. By clicking on it your avatar’s actions will be overridden to act out the ball’s animation.
Primitive (Prim) – The geometric shapes that all objects in Second Life are made of.
Private Island – A region owned by a resident and not attached to the mainland.
Region – A region is the basic unit of land (or server space) in Second Life made up of 64,000 square meters, collectively all of the regions in Second Life make up the Grid, also commonly called a Sim (Simulator). Land on regions can be further broken down into land parcels.
Resident – Another term for your Avatar.
Rezzing (Rez) – The process of creating an object in-world. When you pull an object from your inventory it will “rez” into existence.
RL – Real life.
Ruthed – An error that causes you to appear in a Sim as the default female Avatar shape, whose name is Ruth, and not your customized appearance.
Sandbox – An area where anyone can create or rez objects. Public sandboxes are very popular with builders and griefers.
Shape – The shape of your Avatar’s body. New shapes can be applied to change your appearance and even turn into nonhumanoid things.
Sim – Short for Simulator, see also Region. Sims can further be divided into Parcels.
Skin – The texture applied to your Shape.
SL – Second Life.
SLT – Second Life Time. The same as Pacific Standard or Daylight Time, depending upon the time of year.
SLurl – Short for Second Life URL. Can be entered in a web browser to allow teleportation to a location within SL.
Skybox – A large open area in the sky above a Sim. Cannot be reached by unassisted flight. May contain floating platforms or buildings.
Telehub (HUB) – The place set by the owner of a Region where Avatars arrive when teleporting.
Teleport (TP) –The method of instantly moving from one place to another within Second Life.
Texture – An image applied to the surface of a Prim.
ToS – Terms of Service. The rules and legal terms for using Second Life.
This ends the first section of Chapter 3.
In the next section, we'll take a look at the basic skills you will need to get around and communicate with other residents.
Indeed there have been books written about the history of Second Life and Second Life culture, some of which may be available for loan to members of the UC Second Life Project team.
Amazon: The Making of Second Life: Notes from the New World by Wagner James Au.
What it Means to be a Resident Instead of a "User"
Unlike with other technology platforms, the people who use Second Life don't call themselves "users" and the company who makes Second Life, Linden Lab, usually doesn't refer to them as users, either. Instead they are called Residents as a way to differentiate from someone who simply uses a technology like email versus someone who "lives" in the virtual world, i.e. invests an amount of time, energy, effort and care into the work they do and the social experiences and relationships that they have in Second Life that it transcends mere "use". We don't invest emotional energy into our email software, but when you immerse yourself in a virtual environment like Second Life, it is easy to become emotionally invested in the things you create and the people you meet there.
Long term users of Second Life also use the term Resident to differentiate between those who "live or work" in Second Life versus those who are simply tourists stopping in to check it out. For example, journalists often create an avatar to write a story about something happening in Second Life, but even if Linden Lab might refer to that avatar account as a Resident, those who are long term users of the platform would call that person a tourist, not a "true" Resident.
Second Life Subcultures
From the Wikipedia entry about Second Life subcultures:
Second Life comprises various diverse, user-driven subcultures. There are few pre-determined structures, so what organization that exists has evolved to meet the wants and needs of the residents. Some residents will have an avatar that is clearly human male or female, and some will have an avatar where the gender is less obvious, or entirely androgynous; it is easy for a user to change the appearance of the avatar to either gender. Also, there are many non-human avatars, like "furries", neko (cat-girls), robots, and fantasy creatures such as dragons.
Some residents choose to re-enact some specific world, such as medieval Japan or ancient Rome. They choose to act out this world like real life historical re-creators do. As usual, residents are free to move in and out of these worlds as they see fit. Virtual property rights come into play here, since the property owner can choose to expel residents who don't abide by the property regulations, which in these case might include dress, language, and behavior. There are also areas that re-create worlds from literature, such as Frank Herbert's Dune or John Norman's Gor or from video games such as the Final Fantasy or the Star Wars series.
Some of the subcultures in Second Life revolve around events. Events include many activities related to arts, culture, charity, support groups, commerce, discussion, education, games, contests, nightlife, entertainment, pageants, and sports.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Culture_of_Second_Life
A poster for an event taking place in Raglan Shire, one of the oldest communities in Second Life devoted to "tinies" or those who choose to represent themselves as tiny animal avatars.
Second Life Slang
In addition to general culture and subcultures in Second Life, Residents have also developed a specialized vocabulary to describe actions and experiences that are unique to virtual worlds or Second Life.
Some common Second Life terms include:
1L – First Life / Real World.
2L – Second Life.
Alt – Another "alternative" avatar/account in Second Life used by the same person.
AFK – Away from keyboard. Resident is logged in but not at their computer.
AO – Animation override. The process of a script or animation taking control of your Avatar’s actions. Used in poseballs, danceballs and other objects.
Avatar (Av) – Your personal body/representation within Second Life.
Bling – The animated sparkling effect that radiates from some objects. Can also refer to "trashy" dressed avatars wearing many heavily scripted objects that cause lag for other viewers, ie "blingtard".
Dance Ball – An object that contains an animation file, in this case a dance move. By clicking on it your avatar’s actions will be overridden to act out the ball’s animation.
Estate - A collection of regions that has tools available to help landowners manage multiple regions more easily.
Furry – An avatar that looks like an anthropomorphic animal.
Gesture - A combination of animations, poses, and possibly sound that your avatar can perform. Can be trigged by a keyboard shortcut or phrase.
Grid – The collection of regions, islands, or sims linked together that make up the entire Second Life world is known as the "grid".
Griefer / Griefing – Acting in a way or using objects to purposely annoy or interrupt someone else.
Groups – An organization of Second Life residents. Active group titles appear above an Avatar’s name. Group members have additional communication options.
HUD – Heads Up Display. A custom interface that allows additional interactivity not offered by the standard viewer. HUDs appear as items in your inventory and are "worn" to place the interface on your screen.
IRL – In real life.
Inventory – The collection of everything your avatar owns. Objects, notecards, scripts, landmarks, are all kept here.
In-world – Referring to things within Second Life.
Islands – Land that is part of a grid but not directly connected to the mainland.
Lindex – The trading market that determines the value of Linden Dollars to real dollars. Rates fluctuate based on demand and other factors.
LL – Linden Lab. The company that created Second Life.
LM – Landmark. A specific location within Second Life or the object placed in your lanndmarks folder that allows you to teleport to a specific location in Second Life.
Local Chat/Voice – Anything typed in the chat window can be viewed by avatars within a 20 meter radius of you, this is known as "local" chat, versus an IM (Instant Message) or Group conversation that takes place in a separate window and can only be seen by the participants. Local Voice Chat range is larger than 20meters depending upon their volume levels, but Local Voice refers to voice chat that is only audible to avatars close to your location.
LSL – Linden Scripting Language. An Object Oriented Programming Language that gives objects interactivity in SL.
L$ - Linden Dollars. The currency used to buy things in-world. The real world value of Linden Dollars fluctuates.
Machinima – The process of making an animated movie using Second Life to act out the scenes.
MMO / MMOG / MMORPG- Massively Multiplayer On-line Role Playing Game.
Noob/ Newb / Newbie – A new user. This term can be but is not always meant as an insult.
Object – A prim or connected group of prims.
Pose Ball - An object that contains an animation file. By clicking on it your avatar’s actions will be overridden to act out the ball’s animation.
Primitive (Prim) – The geometric shapes that all objects in Second Life are made of.
Private Island – A region owned by a resident and not attached to the mainland.
Region – A region is the basic unit of land (or server space) in Second Life made up of 64,000 square meters, collectively all of the regions in Second Life make up the Grid, also commonly called a Sim (Simulator). Land on regions can be further broken down into land parcels.
Resident – Another term for your Avatar.
Rezzing (Rez) – The process of creating an object in-world. When you pull an object from your inventory it will “rez” into existence.
RL – Real life.
Ruthed – An error that causes you to appear in a Sim as the default female Avatar shape, whose name is Ruth, and not your customized appearance.
Sandbox – An area where anyone can create or rez objects. Public sandboxes are very popular with builders and griefers.
Shape – The shape of your Avatar’s body. New shapes can be applied to change your appearance and even turn into nonhumanoid things.
Sim – Short for Simulator, see also Region. Sims can further be divided into Parcels.
Skin – The texture applied to your Shape.
SL – Second Life.
SLT – Second Life Time. The same as Pacific Standard or Daylight Time, depending upon the time of year.
SLurl – Short for Second Life URL. Can be entered in a web browser to allow teleportation to a location within SL.
Skybox – A large open area in the sky above a Sim. Cannot be reached by unassisted flight. May contain floating platforms or buildings.
Telehub (HUB) – The place set by the owner of a Region where Avatars arrive when teleporting.
Teleport (TP) –The method of instantly moving from one place to another within Second Life.
Texture – An image applied to the surface of a Prim.
ToS – Terms of Service. The rules and legal terms for using Second Life.
This ends the first section of Chapter 3.
In the next section, we'll take a look at the basic skills you will need to get around and communicate with other residents.
Continue to Chapter 3: Introduction to Second Life - Movement and Navigation